On Wednesday, February 10 2017 I wrote the blog below. I
keep remembering congruence as Rosemary has been helping our Lauren (about to be
16) with her math and geometry homework. Congruence has been the subject for
some days.
It was quite a few years ago that Helen posed for me and because of her almost silent patience I was able to experiment with all kinds of techniques and directions.
It was quite a few years ago that Helen posed for me and because of her almost silent patience I was able to experiment with all kinds of techniques and directions.
As I write this I feel a frustration of not wanting to admit that my best days (as in these photographs) are behind me. I want to do more and I believe I may have the capability. What I need are subjects with patience and trust like Helen. Where could I find them?
Congruence
At St. Edward’s High School in Austin, Texas in the late 50s, I had a Plane Geometry teacher called Brother Gregory. He was soft spoken and almost always had a smile on his face. I learned geometry from this kindly man and to this day I cannot forget his explanation of the words congruence and congruent. In our classroom and homework assignments we were to fit one triangle into another and if this happened without overlap you had congruence.
In my career as a photographer I might have been cubbyholed
as a portrait photographer even though I took my versions of landscapes and
architectural photographs. At the same time I can assert that I did a lot of
experimentation as I never wanted to do one style to the point that I would
have been making the motions of taking the photographs. It always had to be and
must be to this day a challenge.
Perhaps when Helen Yagi and I met and I persuaded her to pose for me I found a perfect congruence of ideas, style and experimentation. In the case of the photographs here I used a pinhole body cap on my Mamiya RB-67 Pro SD instead of a lens. I remember that the exposures were constant flashing of my studio flash on full power for one minute and 35 seconds. Because the exposures were so long Helen could move a bit without affecting the sharpness which was not all that sharp to begin with.
Throughout this time of taking photographs, every once in a while I find that Gregorian congruence. Who knows someone like Helen might give me a call this year. I will be ready.
